You are receiving this newsletter because we received a subscription request in your name. If you no longer wish to receive it or if you were subscribed in error, please follow the instructions at the end of the newsletter in order to unsubscribe.

British roads just seem to get more and more crowded and you would be forgiven for wondering how long it will be before our busiest roads simply grind to a halt.

If, like me, you are a car driver, then spare a thought for those who literally spend nearly all of their working lives on the road. I’m thinking about the heavy goods vehicle drivers. Most of us at one time or another have wished they would get out of our way, but the fact is that much of modern life that we take for granted would not be possible without them.

Not only must they put up with crowded roads all day and every day, they also face many risks to their health and safety. In fact the rate of accidents in the industry ranks as one of the highest.

That doesn’t only reflect on haulage firms as employers. Most of us who are in business also carry some responsibility for their safety. So alongside benefiting from their work, let us also ensure we are doing all we should to protect their health and safety.

Back to top

The health and safety executive have recently been looking at the road haulage and distribution industry and with good reason. In particular they have been focussing on Large Goods Vehicles (often referred to as Heavy Goods Vehicles), which are vehicles of more than 3.5 tonnes.

In practice, there are a number of other bodies that have responsibility for enforcing legislation in this industry including, for example:

• Traffic Commissioners
• Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)
• Driving Standards Agency (DSA)
• Police

A Growing Industry

Carriage of goods by road has become a truly major business activity. Some larger companies run their own fleets, but there are many others that prefer to outsource the work to third party logistics companies who provide the lorries for transport and often provide the warehousing as well. In fact, nearly three quarters of all freight transport in the UK is undertaken by these specialist organisations.

To give an indication of the size to which this industry has developed, there are currently more than 100,000 fleet operators in the UK, though the vast majority are relatively small with fewer than 5 vehicles.

At the other end of the scale are the small number of companies that operate large fleets and have become almost household names. They tend to dominate the market, accounting for well over half of the heavy goods vehicles we see on our roads.

Poor Safety Record

Unfortunately the safety record in the industry isn't particularly good, with accident rates exceeding those in the Construction industry and Agriculture. The obvious implication is that standards of safety are open to some serious questioning.

One of the difficulties for enforcing agencies is that it can be difficult to locate either the people or the vehicles they are driving since they are constantly on the move, which means that inspection can be problematic. Nevertheless, haulage firms are subject to the same health and safety legislation as every other industry, in addition to their own very specific regulation.
Firms ought to be able to demonstrate, therefore, that they have appropriate policies, procedures, risk assessments and such like in place.

Responsibility for Health and Safety

Being able to demonstrate adequate health and safety arrangements is obviously an issue for fleet operators. However, since most companies contract out the distribution of their goods, they also need to consider the issue from a Contractor Management point of view. Do you have sufficient checks to ensure contractors have adequate health and safety systems in place?

Employers at sites visited by the vehicles also have responsibilities to ensure drivers are aware of site-specific risks and that suitable equipment and facilities are available for safe loading and unloading.

In terms of the types of risk faced by the industry, there are the obvious road related hazards of traffic accidents and others related to loading and unloading such as falling from height or being struck by falling objects. These account for many of the fatalities and more serious accidents.

The majority of accidents in the industry, however, tend to be almost incidental to road transport. As many as 70% are the result of slips and trips or manual handling operations. It is perhaps worth bearing in mind that many drivers are faced with different workplaces, goods, equipment and other circumstances on a daily basis, which means they have little opportunity to become familiar with hazards that are well known to other people. Good communication between drivers and site operators is obviously a major factor in managing these types of risk.

Penalties can be Significant

Failure to demonstrate adequate health and safety could result in an Improvement Notice being issued on a fleet operator and in more serious cases, a Prohibition Notice. These could prove expensive to comply with and could also do a great deal of harm to the company’s reputation and business prospects.

Road transport is a complex business and the majority of organisations in the UK carry some responsibility in regard to the health and safety performance of haulage operators. We need to examine our own procedures in this regard to ensure we are doing everything we should be to bring down the high rate of accidents currently being experienced.

Back to top

Does it really matter if a company is served with an Improvement Notice because their health and safety is not up to scratch?

The answer is a very definite "yes" as illustrated by a recent case of a Hertfordshire double-glazing company who were served with a notice in May 2006. The concern was over the maintenance of their electrical system.

The conclusion was that the workplace was unfit for both workers and members of the public.

Fortunately in this case nobody was injured, so the outcome could have been worse. Nevertheless the company were fined for failing to comply with the Improvement Notice, they still had the expense of doing the remedial work, their case received wide publicity and of course they will continue to come under the scrutiny of inspectors.

To quote the health and safety inspector:

"It is important that companies comply with improvement notices. They are served to remedy breaches of Health and Safety legislation and achieve a safer working environment - and failure to comply continues to put workers, and others, at risk."

A better option is to take health and safety seriously in the first place, avoiding the risks, the fines and many other associated costs.

You can read details of the case on the government website at:
http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=288594&NewsAreaID=2

Back to top

Corporate Manslaughter Bill

For almost 10 years we have been waiting for the Corporate Manslaughter Bill to become law. It would allow companies to be prosecuted for gross negligence that led to the death of employees or the public.

More recently, the Bill has been bouncing back and forth between the House of Commons and the House of Lords because of disagreement over whether its scope should include deaths that occur in custody and we were thinking that it was about to fall at the last hurdle once again.

According to parliamentary procedure, the Bill in its current form had a deadline of the 19th July. However, on the 18th July, the government extended this deadline for a further seven days. Mr Straw explained the reason for the extension:

"I am moving the motion because the Government have tabled quite significant amendments, which I hope will meet the anxieties expressed both in this House and the other place. If we are to complete the business, it is important that we allow ourselves an extra week beyond the existing deadline."

There have been many false dawns in regard to the Corporate Manslaughter Bill but once again there is a glimmer of hope that we may yet see it on the statute book in the near future.

You can read the Hansard record at
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm/cmtoday/cmdebate/09.htm

View more anticipated legal changes. Then decide if they affect you and what changes you need to make by way of preparation.

Back to top

Back to top